I couldn’t resist this headline. Why didn’t we think of this? A beaver surely couldn’t have done worse than certain members of our city council back in the day.
Squirrel named Furry Boi elected to UC Berkeley student government
A lack of affordable housing is such a critical issue at UC Berkeley that even the squirrels roaming the wooded campus are worried about it. Or at least that’s what a satirical — and successful — candidate in the university’s recent student government elections is saying.
Last week, Furry Boi, a squirrel from Berkeley’s eucalyptus grove, won a student senate seat for the next academic year alongside 19 human candidates. And he barely squeaked in, coming in with the second-lowest number of votes.
There are suddenly a million questions I want to ask. Cheif among them are how do these students recognize that particular squirrel? Because he’s furry? Because he’s a boy?
But it’s not all as nuts as it may sound: A person is behind the squirrel. Ethan Hu, a 19-year-old sophomore computer science major from the Bay Area, told SFGATE he wanted to avoid a performative campaign that would be just for his resume, which can be a trait of some student government candidates.
“I would have a few actual gripes that campus culture had about the student senate,” he said. “But it’s also an extended April Fools’ joke that somehow snowballed.”
You know the old saying. A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich and a Berkley student body will elect a squirrel. I think the biggest problem is going to be his attention span.
According to Furry Boi’s candidate profile published in the Daily Californian last week, his platform centered on “public housing for squirrels and students, better access to acorns and support groups for those experiencing habitat loss.”
Though Hu has not yet decided whether he’ll take his seat, he said a push for more housing is not a joke. It’s just that he wanted to give satirical mapping to actual human issues.
Beavers and squirrels are both ideal candidates for symbolic housing arguments. You can;d argue with him there.
Hu said his independent campaign consisted of just him, while other candidates had a staff of people working with them. Not expecting to win, he arrived late as votes were being counted Friday and didn’t even hear Furry Boi’s name being announced.
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“I thought they were pulling my leg… I thought they were mocking me,” he said.
Well of course not. With a talent like that. But you know if Hu really wanted to throw a spotlight on the housing issue he should have picked a SNAIL as his candidate.
After all UC Santa Cruz has a Banana Slug.
